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India since Independence: Making Sense of Indian Politics INDIA's journey post-Independence has been a fascinating account of a post-colonial society in transition from a traditional-feudal to a modern democratic polity. The journey has been chequered and strewn with moments of crisis and challenges, both systemic and individual-centric. Yet, despite these ups and downs, the experts the world over believe that one of the paramount pluses about Indian society since Independence has been its unwavering faith in democratic ethos and politics. How has this been possible despite enormous odds is a matter of ensuing debate and critical enquiry.
In the background of the emergence of Gandhi during freedom struggle and the subsequent arrival of Nehru as Prime Minister of independent India, the book begins with a description of the factors and circumstances which led to the rise of the Congress as an unrivalled force in the first few decades of Independence. Indira Gandhi’s rise in the party followed by a split in 1969 marked the beginning of new chapter in Indian politics. The dreaded Emergency of 1975 contributed towards the consolidation of non-Congress forces in later years. The book analyses the factors responsible for the weakening of the Congress and the rise of the Janta Party led by Jayaprakash Narayan and others. The tumultuous years of Emergency and its association with Sanjay Gandhi, the colossal rise of Janta Party and its downfall—these and similar other events have been captured in the book with rare insights punctuated with interesting anecdotes and provide a new perspectives on these critical moments in Indian political history. The book also takes into account some of the most challenging and testing times faced by the country like unrest in Assam, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and the political upheaval created by the Bofors scandal, Ayodhya issue and the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations. Since these events had far-reaching social and political implications, the analysis as detailed in the book gives a new vantage point to observe these scenarios which once upon a time almost threatened to balkanise the country. The fall of the Congress post-Indira Gandhi with the defeat of Rajiv Gandhi and the arrival of V. P. Singh was also characterised by a simultaneous rise in regional political outfits with regional aspirations and focus. This phase actually marked the onset of a new kind of politics in India—the era of coalition politics at the Centre which meant end of monopolistic politics by big "national level" parties. The author, however, rightly concludes that "it also lead to the retreat of ideology from the political discourse and set the stage for political alliances that are opportunist and unethical on the face of it". This book is an
extremely engaging treatise on the evolution of independent India’s
political history and its metamorphosis into a reasonably stable
democracy. If history is about facts and journalism is about
storytelling, here is what you get when both of these combine.
V.Krishna Ananth’s book is simply unputdownable. The inclusion of
rare photographs of various movers and shakers from the corridors of
power in the bygone era adds to the readability value of the book.
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This
book by V.Krishna Ananth, a historian-cum-journalist, makes an attempt
to understand, analyse and more importantly, to make sense of this
great jigsaw puzzle called Indian political history since its
inception as a newly born nation more than 60 years ago.